Rolling crutch



Sepf. 15, 1953 E. R. WARREN ROLLING CRUTCH Filed April 2, 1951 INVENTOR. EUGENE E. MaezEA/ ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 15, 1953 N I "S TltErS PAT EN T O -FF ICE ROLLING CRUTCH Eugene R.-Warren, Sanl'Francisco, Calif.

Application April 2, 1951, Serial No.2'18722 3 Claims.

Thepresent invention relates to improvements in-a rolling crutch, and its..pr-incipal object-is to provide a rolling knee supportfor a person having an injured ankle or .foot .or .-lower v.leg, the crutch being arranged in sucha .manner thatt patient may rest one knee onthe knee support while [propelling himself withthe otherleg resting on=the.fioor.

In carrying out the invention it is proposed to provide a rolling frame structure having a sling supported therein at approximately knee height and having substantially vertical side frame members so that the patient may conveniently straddle either one of the side frame members, with on foot resting on the floor.

It is further proposed to make the entire structure relatively narrow, with the width of the structure not greatly in excess of the width of the knee so that the knee will automatically center itself with respect to the structure when one le rests on the floor.

It is further proposed in the present invention to arrange the frame structure in such a manner that it offers a convenient handhold forwardly of the sling at a height convenient for grasping by the patient while his knee is supported on the sling.

It is additionally proposed in the present invention to arrange the side frames in such a manner that the upper portions thereof are substantially below the crotch of a person so as to allow for convenient operation of the rolling crutch.

Further objects and advantages of m invention wil appear as the specification proceeds, and the novel features of my invention will be fully defined in the claims attached hereto.

The preferred form of my invention i illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of my rolling/ crutch,

Figure 2, a side View of the same,

Figure 3, a front view of the same, and

Figure 4, a vertical section taken along line 4-4 of Figure 2.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, I wish to have it understood that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims attached hereto without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, my rolling crutch comprises in its principal features a frame structure I, a sling 2 supported therein, and rollers 3 supporting the frame structure.

The frame structure comprises two vertical frames 4 arranged rim-parallel relation, the two framesbeingidentical in form, and each frame comprising-a .bottom.member 5, a rear post 15, afrontpostland atop member 8 connecting the frontand rear. .posts. The front and rear posts "6. and l arepreferably made to incline 'toward one another so as to provide a relatively long base-for the structure.

The two frames are interconnected by means of a number of spacing members 9 which space the frames apart about 10 or 12 inches, the spacing corresponding substantialy to the width of a knee and being not greatly in excess thereof.

The sling 22 may be made of canvas or any other suitable flexible material and may be supported within the frame structure in any suitable manher. As shown in the drawing, one side edge may be looped over a bar 10 mounted longitudinally in one of the side frames while the other edge may be buttoned to a second bar ll mounted in the other side frame, the edge being provided with several rows of button holes [2 to allow the slack of the sling to be adjusted for persons of different heights.

The sling should be supported in the frames approximately midway of the height thereof and should be knee high, that is, spaced from the floor by about 17 inches.

The uppermost spacing member 9 should be of a height for convenient grasping by a person having a knee supported by the sling and may be about 34 or 36 inches above the floor level.

Since the side frames are intended to be straddled by the patient, the upper frame members 8 are suitably curved to present indentations adapted to accommodate the crotch of the patient. While the uppermost spacing member 9 may be approximately crotch high, the upper edges of the side frames should be of somewhat less height to accommodate the crotch of a person straddling either of the side frames.

The manner of using the device will be readily understood from the foregoing description. A person having an injured ankle or foot or lower limb may rest his knee on the sling 2, with his legs straddling one of the side frames, and one foot resting on the floor. When thus positioned he may grasp the uppermost spacing member 9 with his hands and propel himself forward by pushing off against the floor with his uninjured leg.

I claim.

1. A crutch comprising a pair of complementary vertical frames movable over a floor surface, means, for spacing the same substantially by the width of a persons knee, and a sling supported by the frames substantially at knee height, the spacing means comprising a spacing member connecting the frames above and forwardly of the sling to form a handhold for a person having the knee of one leg resting on the sling, and the rearward upper ends of the frames being higher than the sling and lower than the spacing member to accommodate the crotch of the person when his other leg rests on the floor on the outside of one of the frames.

2. A crutch comprising a rectangular bottom frame movable over a floor surface having relatively long sides and short ends, legs rising from the four corners of the frame, the legs on one side being parallel to the legs of the other side and the legs on each side being inclined toward one another, a sling supported by the legs intermediate the height of the frame, a cross member connecting the legs at one end forwardly of and at an elevation considerably higher than the sling, the legs at the other end extending upwardly to a less elevation above the sling, and side members connecting the upper ends of each pair of side legs and being shaped to present relatively high forward portions connected to the rear legs at the cross member and relatively low rearward portions adapted to accommodate the crotch of a person having the knee of one leg resting on the sling and the foot of the other leg resting on on floor outside the base.

3. A crutch comprising a rectangular bottom frame movable over a floor surface approximately twice as long as wide, side frames rising vertically from the sides of the bottom frames and having stepped upper edges presenting relatively high front portions and lower rear portions, a cross-member connecting the upper ends of the front portions, and a sling supported by the side frames at substantially one-half the height of the front portions, with the upper edges of the rear portions disposed intermediate the height of the front portions and the height of the sling.

EUGENE R. WARREN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 146,848 Brickson June 3, 1947 1,394,224 Scott Oct. 18, 1921 1,448,783 Blewitt et a1 Mar. 20, 1923 2,129,260 Bowser Sept. 6, 1938 2,305,249 Frost Dec. 15, 1942 2,374,182 Duke Apr. 24, 1945 2,519,096 Additon Aug. 15, 1950 

